UK Pharmacist Orchestrated Elaborate Arsenic Poisoning Plot via Swiggy Delivery in Hyderabad
A shocking case of premeditated murder and attempted mass poisoning has unfolded in a London courtroom, revealing a chilling plot hatched by a British citizen of Indian origin. Ajith Kumar Mupparapu, a UK-based pharmacist, stands accused of orchestrating the murder of his mother-in-law and attempting to kill his ex-wife and her entire family by using a food delivery service to deliver arsenic-laced spices to their Hyderabad apartment.
Court Hears Details of Poison Delivery and Multiple Murder Plots
Westminster Magistrates' Court in London heard detailed allegations on Monday as Mupparapu appeared from prison to contest his extradition to India. Dressed in a grey sweatshirt, the defendant listened as counsel for the Indian government, James Lewis KC, outlined a series of disturbing events that culminated in tragedy.
The prosecution described how Mupparapu's sister, Surekha Mupparapu, a chemistry teacher at the Atomic Energy Central School in Hyderabad, purchased sodium arsenite under the pretense of needing it for her school's chemistry laboratory. She then allegedly provided the deadly compound to her brother when he visited India in March 2023.
In a particularly brazen move, Mupparapu reportedly paid a Swiggy delivery boy 2,000 rupees to deliver a parcel containing the arsenic-laced chilli and salt, instructing him to leave it outside his father-in-law's flat in Hyderabad. This delivery would set in motion a chain of events that would claim one life and endanger several others.
Family Gathering Turns Deadly After Consuming Contaminated Food
The plot came to fruition in early June 2023 when the family gathered at the Hyderabad flat for the marriage of Sirisha's brother. After consuming home-cooked meals prepared with the contaminated spices, all family members fell violently ill with severe diarrhoea and vomiting.
Tragically, on July 5, 2023, Uma Maheshwari Muttavarapu, Mupparapu's mother-in-law, died in hospital. Subsequent medical testing revealed that the other family members had dangerously high levels of arsenic in their systems, while forensic analysis confirmed the presence of arsenic in the spices found in their apartment.
Background of Abuse and Multiple Murder Attempts Revealed
The court heard that the poisoning plot was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of disturbing behavior. James Lewis KC detailed how Mupparapu had verbally and physically abused his wife Dr Sirisha Muttavarapu, her seven-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and even their puppy on multiple occasions following their marriage in June 2018 and subsequent move to the UK.
After the couple separated in August 2022, Mupparapu allegedly began stalking and terrorizing Sirisha, who then initiated divorce proceedings. The poisoning attempt appears to have been the culmination of this escalating campaign of harassment.
The prosecution revealed that Mupparapu had multiple motives for targeting his father-in-law, Hanumantha Rao Muttavarapu. A dispute over agricultural land had left Mupparapu feeling cheated, prompting him to orchestrate several additional murder plots against Rao throughout 2023.
Multiple Failed Murder Plots Against Father-in-Law
In January 2023, Mupparapu allegedly hired Mohammed Azeem Khan and Rizwan Khan to stage a fatal road traffic accident targeting Rao. When that plot failed, he turned to the dark web in February 2023, arranging for 2 lakh rupees to be paid to self-proclaimed contract killers Karthik Vemulapally and Mohit Prahaladka.
Mupparapu reportedly enlisted one of his employees, a Wipro software engineer, to make these payments without explaining their purpose. The court heard that he also conspired with six others, including the son of the watchman at Rao's apartment and Sirisha's cousin Purnendar, in a plot to murder Rao using succinylcholine injections that cause respiratory failure in sufficient doses.
Remarkably, all these additional murder plots against Rao were unsuccessful, though the arsenic poisoning plot tragically claimed the life of Uma Maheshwari.
Extradition Battle and Legal Arguments
Sirisha Muttavarapu, who lives in the UK, watched the proceedings as her ex-husband fought against extradition. Mupparapu's legal team argued that some evidence presented by the Government of India is inadmissible, that there is insufficient evidence to prove the charges, and that he would face trial delays, overcrowded prison conditions, and potential torture if returned to India.
The case continues to unfold in Westminster Magistrates' Court as Indian authorities seek to bring Mupparapu back to face charges of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to murder. The elaborate nature of the poisoning plot, involving international coordination, family members, and commercial delivery services, has drawn significant attention to this complex extradition case.
